Railway signal apparatus.



PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905.

L. REIDEL.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR 10,1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

flttozmu No. 792,616. PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905.

' L. RBIDEL.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED APR'10.1905.

2 SHEETS-SHBET Z.

UNITED STATES Patented June 20, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,616, dated June 20, 1905. Application filed April 10, 1905. Serial No. 254,774.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs REIDEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tampico, in the county of IVhiteside and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Signal Apparatus; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in signaling apparatus for railways for the purpose of indicating an accident toa bridge, either by flood, fire, or otherwise, and comprises means whereby a flag may be disclosed as a signal to an engineer in the event of any part of a bridge passing away, and comprises various details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this application, and in which drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation showing my apparatus as applied to a bridge and railway. Fig. 2 is a top plan view, and Fig. 3 is a crosssectional view through a signal tower-house.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a railway, and B a bridge over which the tracks of the railway pass.

O C designate two wires which are fastened to the bridge longitudinally, and at intervals underneath the rails are boards D, upon which weights E are supported, and each weight has a wire F secured thereto at one end, and its other end is fastened to one of said wires O. A cable or wire (Sr is connected to said wires O and passes about a pulley I-I, mounted in a suitable boxing I, and its end is fastened to a split arm J, which projects from a shaft K, journalcd in suitable bearings within said boxing. In order to hold said arm in its lowest downward position I provide spring-pressed rods L, which are mounted in bearings in the cross-pieces L, and springs O are interposed between blocks 0' upon said rods and one of the cross-pieces L, and strings or wires Q connect corresponding ends of said springpressed rods to the shaft K.

R designates a cable which is secured to the circumference of the shaft K and passes through apertures in said cross-pieces and through a pipe R and into the tower-house R, in which said wire passes over pulleys R and R and underneath a pulley R and is secured to the lower end of a rod T, which has a ver tical play in the cross-pieces T within said tower-house.

serves to normally hold the rod T at its highest throw. The upper end of the rod T has an enlarged portion and is adapted to contact with a lug WV upon a shaft W, mounted within said tower-house, and throw a flag V,which is secured to the shaft W, out through a slot in the house and disclose the flag as a signal to an approaching train of danger ahead.

. It is my purpose to position the tower with the signal at a considerable distance from a bridge, and one should be located upon either side thereof for the purpose of signaling trains coming in either direction.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows: In the event of a portion of the bridge upon which one of said weights is held becoming burned or removed from any cause the weight upon the particular section which is removed falling will pull upon the wire and its connection which runs into the box along the side of the railway. The pull upon the wire will cause the shaft K to rock through the means of the slotted arm secured thereto and the wire running from the shaft K to the towerhouse will wind upon the shaft K under the tension of the springs secured to said shaft, and the spring-pressed rod within the towerhouse will be drawn down and by so doing will throw the signal-flag through the slot in the wall of the tower-house and disclose the same where it may be readily seen by an engineer upon an approaching train in ample time to apply the brakes andstop the train before it reaches the danger-point.

While I have shown a particular form of A spring T is interposed between the cross-pieces withm said house and apparatus illustrating my invention, it will be understood that I may vary the details of construction of the same, if desired, without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A signaling apparatus for railways comprising, in combination with a bridge, wires secured thereto, weights supported upon sections of the bridge and connected to said wires, a spring-actuated rock-shaft mounted in suitable bearings adjacent to the railway, a cable secured to an arm upon said'shaft and connected to said wires, a signal-tower, a cable connected to said rock-shaft and adapted to wind about the same, a spring-pressed rod within said tower-house and connected to the cable which is fastened to the shaft, and a signal which is actuated by said spring-pressed rod, as set forth.

2. A signaling apparatus for railways comprising, in combination with a bridge, wires secured thereto, weights supported upon sections of the bridge and connected to said wires, a spring-actuated rock-shaft mounted in suitable bearings adjacent to the railway, a cable secured to an arm upon said shaft and connected to said wires, a signal tower, a cable connected to said rock-shaft and adapted to wind about the same, a spring-pressed rod within said tower-house and connected to the cable which is fastened to the shaft, a rockshaft mounted within the signal-tower, an arm projecting from said shaft and adapted to be actuated by said spring-pressed rod, and a signal-flag also carried by said rock-shaft within the tower-house, as set forth.

3. A signaling apparatus for railways comprising, in combination with a bridge, wires secured thereto, boards arranged in sections along the bridge, a Weight mounted upon each of said boards and connections between said weights and said wires, a rock-shaft, springpressed rods, wires secured to said shaft and said rods, an arm fastened to said shaft and having a slotted end, a cable secured to said slotted armand fastened to said wires, a tower-house, a vertically-movable springpressed rod mounted therein, cable connection between said rod and rock-shaft, and a signal which is actuated by said spring-pressed rod, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS REIDEL.

Witnesses:

HOWARD MA'rms, H. H. MILLER. 

